Anna council candidates get ready for Election Day

Thursday

Mar 23, 2017 at 12:01 AMApr 4, 2017 at 4:09 PM

By Shalene White, Anna-Melissa Tribune

The Anna City Council is holding elections for two available seats on its council. The vote will be held May 6, and the two spots up for election is Place 3 and Place 5. John Beazley, the incumbent for Place 3 is running unopposed. However, there are three candidates for Place 5.

Nathan Bryan is the incumbent member for Place 5. Bryan has served two terms on the city council; a total of five years due to the term limit being lengthened while in office. At first, Bryan did not have plans of running for a third term; he believes there should be term limits. When he learned about a real estate agent putting his name on the ballot, however, Bryan decided to run again.

Bryan said he believes sometimes a city needs fresh blood, but only if the new council members has the public’s interest; somebody with nothing to gain outside of serving the city.

“I see communities that have council members involved in real estate and they know there is money in the land,” Bryan said. “It concerns me.”

Bryan also said he supports the citizens of Anna in keeping the city feeling small, and added that he is not influenced by any developers, builders or realtors.

“Our town is special in its history and merging of new growth,” Bryan said. “I realize that growth is going to happen but want to be sure that it is well planned and protects our small town charm.”

Bryan said he believes that the developers need to held to higher standard to be certain that they are providing the citizens with the best neighborhoods possible.

“We have been developing a great park system within the city and I would like to see that continued through the neighborhoods,” he said.

Scott North, a real estate agent with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, also has his name on the ballot for May 6. North chose to run for city council due to his past experience. North was a member of The Colony’s city council and mayor pro tem for eight years. After the mayor stepped down, North filled that position for eight months. Once he was no longer on the city council, North was elected as the director of the Municipal Utilities District for two years. He helped merge the MUD in with the city utility department, ultimately saving the city money.

“The city of Anna is about to explode,” North said. “It needs somebody that not only has experience, but has been involved in the growth of a city.”

North said his experience in real estate and being familiar with the developers will help save quite a bit of time as the city expands.

“I don’t have to take the first year to get to know the developers,” North said. “I can hit the ground running.”

Part of North’s platform is wanting to change up the election process of the city council. North wants two of the seats to remain at large — council members that represent the whole body of Anna — while changing the remaining four seats to single-member districts. North said splitting the four places into districts ensures that every citizen has representation.

North said he is looking forward to the growth of Anna.

“My desire in running for the council for the city of Anna is to allow my experience to help the city’s master plan to grow organized as opposed to dysfunction,” North said. “I want to watch it grow into the amazing city that I know it could be. Anna is going to be the next diamond and I want to be there to watch it sparkle.”

Susan Warden is the third candidate for Place 5 on the city council. Warden works at a bank in Plano and has been in the banking industry for 25 years, and holds a master’s in business administration. Warden wants to be the next city council member because she wants to be more involved with the city. Warden said she’s always liked government, but age seems to push her to learn more.

“I’ve always had an interest in government,” Warden said. “The older I get, the more I see the importance of being involved in your city.”

Warden and her family have been residents of Anna since 2007. Even though Warden has never held a place on a council board before, she said she’s eager to learn, and believes she still has plenty to offer.

“I am very excited about the possibility of being on the city council,” Warden said. “If elected, I want to enhance communications with the people about what our city is doing and what the plans are for the future. I would like to build on the programs already available to the citizens of Anna, promoting all the opportunities to become involved. We are thriving and it’s an exciting time for us with our new growth. I believe Anna is making a name for itself and therefore becoming the new ‘place to be’. The possibilities are endless.”

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